Zero turn mower recomendation?????

[jjscott32]

Please help? I am new to the commercial lawn mower market and looking for a mower that will mow my one acre non hilly yard with a couple of trees...but also want something that will do a 13 acre development and not take a super long time. I was thinking about a zero turn, and maybe an attachment to suck up autumn leaves. I don't like to buy crappy stuff! What do you recommend? I have heard that Exmark were the best, but when I went in to look at them the dealer tried to sell me a Hustler (the mower, not the other thing). They said that Exmark's were not as reliable. I think he gets a kickback or something for selling the Hustler. Opinions on Scag, Graverly, John Deere, Hustler, Exmark, Snapper?
Any help would be appreciated.

[dfischer]

JJ:

You're going to get 3 classes of posts.

1) The few that will help with this question (that at this moment doesn't yet deserve a lot of attention)

2) A number of "what I own is the best" respones from the masses.

3) Answers a bit like mine that say:

This gets asked about twice a week. I'm thinking you'll be way ahead if you read, do some searches, and get ramped up before asking the same old thing. Then go visit some dealers. Then come back and read some more. THEN ask questions.

BTW, you'll find carefull reports of some in depth reviews and soul searching decisions by many already in the archive. More data in here then you'll ever get from simple responses to your question.

There are many on this site that have been there done that. (I'm not one of them, I'm really am just giving you the best advise) But to get their advise you'll need to have at least tried to get the basics.

[stryper]

Best is a relative term. Anything commercial will handle one flat acre with no problem; thirteen acres may be another story. Are you after reliability? Quality of cut? Ease of service? Comfort?

The best advice I've read is this: shop dealer, not brand. Dealer support is everything.

The second best: decide was size and/or grade of unit is enough, then go another step up.

[DJL50]

Originally Posted by stryper

Best is a relative term. Anything commercial will handle one flat acre with no problem; thirteen acres may be another story. Are you after reliability? Quality of cut? Ease of service? Comfort?

The best advice I've read is this: shop dealer, not brand. Dealer support is everything.

The second best: decide was size and/or grade of unit is enough, then go another step up.

I did a lot of research before my purchase. The fact is most ztr mowers are made with the same pumps, motor, seat, etc.. in a given price range. What the other post said is true. Dealer support is going to be the big factor. I could have purchased 6 other brands and sure I would have made the best choice. IMHO I started looking at the Cub Cadets but did not feel they were a good value when compared to other units. I purchased a Toro

[dcondon]

Good luck with what you get. If your going to be doing that many acres I would get a 72" mower of your choice. We run all cub TANKS and love them. Just make sure you demo them all and see what is the most comfortable for you.

[RickGee]

Check in to the Toro, w/ the Turbo Force 7 gauge deck. This thing is a cutting beast. It beats anything I've ever used.

[steve45]

Whatever you choose, I'd recommend getting a real commercial model. They ain't cheap, so I'd recommend you go the route I did and buy a used mower.

Make sure that a grass catcher is available for the model you choose, too. In my case, I bought a Scag Tiger Cub and learned that the older grass catchers are hard to find (but I found one).

I gave serious consideration to Hustler, but there was a question about grass catcher availability for those, too.

[lawnmaniac883]

First off, cross snapper off of your list, garbage when it comes to commercial Z's.

Second, do you want to spend 7 grand or 15 on a new mower?

Third, dealer support is king, shop the dealers more than the brands.

Now for my opinion. All the brands you mentioned aside from snapper will do the job and do it well. That said, avoid Exmark for now as their new Triton deck has had some serious issues when it comes to quality of cut in some areas. Hustler has had great reviews of their new XR7 deck as well as scag with their velocity plus deck. John Deere has been doing well with their 7 iron stamped deck and gravely is the sleeper with their XDZ deck which performs well but hasnt been forced onto the buyer like Exmark with their crappy Triton.

All of the decks work well, try some mowers out and see what you feel most comfortable with.

[stevens lawn]

get a toro they are the best

[lawnmaniac883]

Originally Posted by stevens lawn

get a toro they are the best

That is a very dumb statement to be making. Especially after the thread in the commercial mowing section about a guy that ran a toro for a few hours before making the dealer buy it back...TORO=OVERRATED!!!